The New Orleans Pelicans Have the Best Young Core in the NBA
The Contenders
The Duo in Boston
The Boston Celtics (36-18) are the third seed in the Eastern Conference and a legitimate candidate to make the NBA Finals. They have veterans like Gordon Hayward, Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart, so it doesn’t seem like they should really be on a list about up and coming cores, but the Celtics make the cut because of their two young stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. At just 21 and 22 respectively, Tatum and Brown form one of the best young duos in the NBA.
Tatum has been spectacular, netting 22.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, all career highs. Brown’s numbers aren’t far off at 20.2 points and 6.4 rebounds. In fact, they are nearly identical statistically, with Tatum hitting 38.2 percent of his 3-pointers and Brown 38.1.
Tatum and Brown continue to exceed expectations and are one of the best young pairs on one of the NBA’s best teams, but otherwise the Celtics lack young depth and two players can barely be considered a core. Tatum and Brown deserve recognition for what they are doing at such a young age, but the Celtics are still largely a team of veterans who are ready to compete now.
Boston is better than the New Orleans Pelicans presently, but New Orleans has the better core when it comes to both overall talent and depth.
Deep in Denver
The Denver Nuggets (38-17) are another contender being led by an exciting young core. The Nuggets sit alone in second position in the Western Conference and are poised to make a deep run into the playoffs behind superstar center Nikola Jokic, who is still just 24 years old. Jokic is one of the best players in the league, adding 10.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists to his gaudy scoring numbers.
Jamal Murray is only 22 and is already getting 18.9 points per game. Monte Morris, PJ Dozier and Michael Porter Jr. have all shown signs of being solid rotation players in the NBA and are all under the age of 25. Denver has been one of the model franchises for developing young players and are one of the few teams that can challenge the Pelicans in both talent and depth when it comes to youth.
Denver is deep and very good, but it is hard to put them above the Pelicans. Zion and Ingram may not be better than Jokic and Murray now (emphasis on MAY) but I wouldn’t bet against the young Pelicans moving forward.